The Hearted Fellowship of Kingdoms and Quests
by Maniac SwordBreaker
Summary: Kingdom Hearts X Dragon Quest 8. Post CoM. Cloud and Squall were ordered to awaken Sora, Donald, and Goofy from their one year long slumber in Castle Oblivion. Now they must find a way back to their world by finding King Trode's staff.
1. Prologue: Dreams and Memories

**The Hearted Fellowship of Kingdoms and Quests**

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**Author's Note: HUGE KINGDOM HEARTS: CHAIN OF MEMORIES SPOILERS. THERE ARE VARIOUS FINAL FANTASY VII/VIII REFERENCES AND CHARACTERS WHICH CONNECT EVERYTHING TOGETHER LOGICIALLY. THIS STORY TAKES PLACE IN DRAGON QUEST 8'S WORLD, BUT YOU DO NOT NEED TO PLAY THE GAME IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE STORY. **

**_Prologue: Dreams and Memories_**

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Imprisoned in a bluish oval-shaped contraption, there he was floating like a bubble; helpless and powerless to free himself. He was unaware of his current state as his mind drifted between the realms of reality and dream. He saw a version of himself wandering the shores of some unknown island. The squawking of the seagulls and the swooshing of the sea on sand pleased his ears so much that he almost thought of dancing to the beat of the beach. He awed at the amazing art of the setting sun – blended hues of orange, gray, and violet filled the sky, for the sight was indeed a masterpiece not even Michelangelo can recreate. He walked in a strange manner, intentionally chafing the soles of his bear feet with the sandy shore. Feeling the sand and listening to its rustling sounds produced by his strange strutting – oh how good it felt! Everything felt so real for the first time in…he lost count on how long it was…it didn't matter; he was alive and satisfied. He even continued his weird walk when the sea swooshed in and covered his legs, but this time it had a different feeling and produced a different sound…the result was the same though; a sense of satisfaction.

All of a sudden, everything came to a complete stop. The sounds of the beach, his walk, his satisfaction – all paused as if someone pressed the start button of a videogame controller. Even his heart skipped a beat. And it was all because he noticed a familiar figure standing in the distance, giving him the impression to come closer. He ran towards the figure like a madman. Everything felt and sounded twisted to him. An eerie chime replaced the sound of the seagulls and a frustrating feeling replaced his satisfaction as he kept running on the sand. _Damn sand, slowing me down! _He was getting closer and closer…but when he got so close that he can clearly see the figure's face, he froze unwillingly. Soon after that, he started to fall into the black abyss. He reached for the figure's hand as he kept falling, but it was hopeless. _Kairi__…_


	2. The Beginning

**_Chapter 1:The Beginning _**

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"Pssst! Sora, wake up!"

The high-pitched rasping voice slashed through his dreams, as he fluttered his eyes open to see a couple of familiar faces looking down on him. The owner of the voice, Donald Duck, stood above him, arms folded on top of each other as he cracked a satisfying smile. Next to Donald was a kneeling Goofy, who held his trademark hat on his chest, looking very worried – it was almost as if someone died. Spiky-, fair-haired Cloud Strife and scar-faced Squall Leonhart stood opposite of the Disney Knights, expressing no emotion whatsoever. Sora exchanged looks with everyone. He was confused. What was he doing lying in the ground? Where did the beach go? Where did Kairi go? He tried to get up to get a better look of his surroundings, but he couldn't fully stand. Donald and Goofy immediately held him by the shoulders before completely losing his balance.

"Whoa! Easy there, Sora. You haven't moved in a year you know," Goofy said, sounding worried.

"Where…where am I?" Sora uttered, still confused.

"Don't you remember, buddy?" said Goofy, more concerned than before.

"Sounds like the stupid memory machine didn't work! That dog-gone-" Donald trailed off with a series of muttering.

"Memory machine?" Sora asked. Moments later, it all came back to him. His face glowed with an expression of realization, almost as if a light bulb could appear on the top of his head any moment. "We're in Castle Oblivion!"

"I never doubted you for a second Sora, hi-yuck!" exclaimed Goofy as he finally looked happy.

"Don't forget that I was the one who woke him up after all of you failed to do so," Donald beamed, puffing his chest up a bit.

"Well who could NOT wake up after hearing your scrunching voice? It's worse than an alarm clock for crying out loud!" Goofy laughed.

"Hey, that's not very nice! Take that back you klutz!" Donald retaliated, his voice louder than ever now. As his friends continued bickering, Sora couldn't help but laugh. He tightened the grip of both his arms around their necks, his own way of hugging without them noticing. Indeed, he missed them so much.

"I hate to break up this celebration fest," Squall finally said, silencing everyone. All eyes were on him now as he continued talking, "but we have a very important matter to attend to. Let's make haste."

"But-"

"We'll explain on the way kid," Cloud interrupted the ever-curious Sora, turning his back on the group causing his blood-red cape to flutter in motion. Sora's jaw dropped; he always thought that Cloud was cool, and he secretly wished that he had a cape like that. Cloud glimpsed back at the group before he started walking towards the exit, "we have a long hike ahead of us."

And so, the party-of-five got out of the castle and started their mysterious journey, walking side-by-side towards the setting sun. It took some time for Sora to convince Donald and Goofy that he could walk own his own now. They stopped helping him, yet continued arguing. Sora was too occupied to listen though; he was awe-struck from the sunset's beautiful view. The gray, orange, and violet sky – it reminded him of his strange dreams…he took out an azure-blue keychain from the pocket of his sleeveless jacket and gripped it tightly, and then tucked it away safely before any of his friends would notice. He was very concerned about Riku and Kairi after that recent nightmare. He needed to brush off his thoughts and focus on their current situation. Speaking of which…

"So," the brown-haired lad glanced at Cloud and Squall, "how'd you guys know we were here?"

"We received a message from the king," Cloud replied, and at the moment Goofy and Donald stopped arguing with each other and listened in carefully. "He also told us that Riku was trapped in the Castle too. But we've searched all the floors; it seems that the place's deserted now."

_That means that Namine's gone too, _Sora thought. The girl who returned back their memories didn't wait for them. A year was too long of a wait though. She probably needed to hide.

"The Riku in Castle Oblivion was a clone," Donald addressed the two swordsmen, "we're not sure, but this organization has been conducting some sort of strange experiments. They could be in-cahoots with the Darkness."

"According to the King's message, the Riku in the castle was the real deal. The King was communicating with him constantly in order to guide him out," Squall said, brushing back his long jet-black hair using his fingers. The mid-afternoon breeze constantly pushed the ends of his hair forward, blocking his eyesight.

"You mean that the real Riku was there too!" Goofy yelled, surprised.

"Yeah," Squall replied, tying his hair up so it won't go loose again. "How else were the cloaked-people able to make a clone without the real one?"

Sora said nothing on the subject. He had always felt that the real Riku was in the castle with him. He wondered though; why did Mickey communicate with only Riku? How about him?

"Just so you know," Cloud announced suddenly, "we've been informed about your situation in Castle Oblivion, so you won't need to boringly recite your adventure to us." Cloud smiled.

Sora let out a sigh of relief; he didn't want to talk about it anyway. Yet more questions came to mind. How did Mickey know about all this?

"It's getting dark," Goofy said, breaking off Sora's train of thought.

"Yeah," said Squall, who suddenly stopped walking. The others realized so and did the same. "We'll camp here," he continued, unwinding two straps from his shoulders and pulling out a backpack. Sora didn't notice it until now; Squall's hair completely hid it from view…or maybe Sora was making up an excuse for himself to cover up his constant thinking and daydreaming.

By nightfall the gang finished setting up camp, which consisted of two tents and a bonfire. Squall handed Sora new clothes matching his recent size, since he had been trapped for a year inside that 'memory machine'. It had just occurred to him that his current garbs actually did feel too tight. _My worries are getting in the way of everything – I'm like a grownup for God's sakes, _the teenager thought jokingly.

Sora's 'new' clothes were certainly not new in one sense; the style was ironically identical to what he had on now, but the colors were different – yellow baggy Bermudas, a black t-shirt, and a red vest filled with zippers. He went inside the tent to change. Once he was done he came out and noticed that everyone was gathered around the bonfire. Goofy and Donald signaled him with a thumbs-up. He waved and smiled back in reply.

The choices for dinner were either beans or marshmallows. Sora, Donald, and Goofy immediately went with the latter, while Cloud and Squall picked the former. The trio enjoyed holding their marshmallows-on-sticks in front of the fire, but the swordsmen duo looked as lifeless as ever eating off their bowls of beans. Sora tried to open up the subject of where they were heading, but Cloud stated that he would brief them tomorrow. Squall looked really depressed as his azure-blue eyes gazed up above the star-filled sky, his mind elsewhere. Sora recognized that look; he always used to gaze at the stars with Kairi and Riku back in Destiny's Island. Oh how he wished that those days would return soon. For a moment the baby-faced hero thought of cheering him up, but he instantly decided against it. Donald and Goofy, however, had other plans. They immediately went by Squall's side and tried to cheer him up. Even Goofy pulled up Squall's cheeks to force a smile off of his face, but to no avail. Soon enough, they stopped annoying the black-clothed swordsman and went back beside Sora to continue their meals.

In a short while everyone was done eating. Getting ready for bed, they helped each other putting away their bowls and leftovers…except for Goofy, whose duty was putting out the fire. And what a big mistake that was. The lanky Disney Knight tried to put out the fire by stepping on it, but his brown shoe caught on fire. Then, he tried putting out the fire on his shoe using his free foot; but lo and behold his other shoe caught fire. He was running around in circles yelling, but it didn't help his heated situation. It got worse when his trousers were on fire, yet his instincts finally kicked in; he stopped, dropped and rolled until it was finally out. Unfortunately for Goofy, everyone was watching the incident – silence was instantly followed by laughter, and even Squall forced out a chuckle. With an event like that in mind, Sora was sure that everyone will have a good night's sleep dreaming about it.


	3. The Search for Hope Within

**_Chapter 2: The Search for Hope Within_**

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Sora jumped up awake…yet another Kairi-related nightmare. He wiped the sweat from his brow and observed Donald and Goofy; both of them were sleeping like babies, yet their snores were loud and surprisingly followed each other in-sync. Sora smiled, got up, and walked out of the tent, where he was greeted by the black star-packed sky. What a beautiful sight it was. He tried to find the moon, but it seemed to be hidden behind the clouds. Upon hearing a rustling noise, he lowered his head, and noticed Squall sitting on the grass polishing his Gunblade. Sora approached him slowly, and when he got close enough, he sat beside the depressed warrior.

After a brief moment of silence, Sora began to speak. "Leon, I saw you look at the stars tonight." Squall stopped polishing his blade. "When I do that, I'm either worried about my friends or thinking of the other worlds out there."

Leon slowly placed the Gunblade on his lap. "You sure are bright kid," he chuckled, "It's a little bit of both."

Silence filled the air for a bit. Squall sighed. "I feel that my world is still out there, even though I was informed of its destruction. I can't explain it but…I can still sense my friends are alive."

"I know how you feel," Sora replied, referring to his connection with Kairi and Riku. "That's my motivation. That's why I'm still by your side. I must find my friends even if it seems impossible."

"Thing is; I have no clue on my world's whereabouts even if it still existed."

"Hmm," Sora thought out loud, "I had friends whose situations were exactly like yours, but they were so full of life you know…Tidus, Wakka, and especially Selphie; she was the happiest girl I knew. You should act like her Leon. Never lose-"

"Hold up a second," Leon interrupted, giving Sora a curious look. "Did you say Selphie?"

Sora nodded. "Yup - you know her from someplace?"

"Selphie Tilmitt?"

Sora nodded in reply.

"Can you describe her to me?"

"Okay. Erm…short black hair, blue eyes, yellow short dress, uses nunchucks as weapons, very cheery and spunky. That's about it."

It was the first time Sora had seen Leon smile willingly. "She's alive. Thank goodness she's alive. She's a friend from my world."

"Well that's great news!" Sora exclaimed. "But, I haven't seen her and the others since I left the island," his smile turned into a frown.

Squall placed his hand on Sora's shoulder, "no matter kid. This is still great news. My friends are alive…somewhere…out there…" he trailed off as he looked up at the stars. "One of these stars is my world. I just need to know which one."

"Why don't you pick one?" Sora said, as Squall removed his hand from the boy's shoulder. "You know, to motivate you and stuff. You never know, you've got a one-in-a-billion chance that you're right!"

"You know what? I think I will!" Squall randomly pointed at a star, feeling more excited than ever.

"Glad to see you happy Leon," Sora laughed.

"Kid, just between you and me," Squall started to say, "Leon isn't my real name. I wanted to disassociate myself with my past life to forget as much as possible. I wanted the pain to stop. But now, you've given me hope. I'm Squall Leonhart." He extended his hand to Sora, who gladly shook it.

Sora wanted to pat himself in the back for a job well done. He was happy for Squall's newfound hope. The mere thought of it made him smile. Soon after, he started to yawn.

"You better go back to sleep, kid. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Ok Leon—I mean Squall. Goodnight!" Sora stood up, brushed the dirt and grass off his backside, and walked lazily back to his tent.

Squall gazed back at the stars, a look of determination on his face. _Everyone…Rinoa…someday I'll find you. Someday, I'll see you again._


	4. Battle of the Slimes

**_Chapter 3: Battle of the Slimes_**

Sora was the last one to get up the next day. He sheathed his Keyblade—with the Chocobo keychain—in the scabbard on the side of his waist and hastily left the tent. Everyone was outside making last-minute preparations on their equipment, while Squall started to fold up his tent. Surprisingly, no one scolded Sora for getting up late.

"Hey kid," Cloud said as he took a couple of practice swipes with his bandage-covered Buster Sword. Sora's mouth gaped open once again; Cloud's 'coolness' was just too much for him. "Don't just stand there," Cloud continued, "help Leon fold back the tents."

Sora snapped out of it and obeyed his command. On the way to help Squall, he bypassed Donald and Goofy, who were arguing as usual.

"No, no, no; not from this side…the hole for your head is up!" Donald yelled, helping Goofy to wear his brown shirt properly. Right now, Goofy's head was out from the right arm hole of the shirt, while his right hand stuck out from the head hole and was covered by his hat. Goofy tried again, but somehow his head got stuck inside the shirt.

"This is useless," Donald muttered as he turned back to observe Cloud practicing on his sword. "Showoff," he muttered again.

In a couple of minutes everything was packed and they were set to go. Goofy finally wore his shirt right and surprisingly was able to strap his shield behind his back without any problems. Cloud sheathed the Buster Sword back in the scabbard hidden behind his cape and took a head start. Squall and Sora walked alongside each other, deep in conversation about Squall's friends – it felt like a one-sided conversation since Squall had one-word replies to Sora's barrage of questions. Donald waited for Goofy, who was fiddling around with his shield for no reason whatsoever. The short-tempered Duck stopped him—before he does any more 'damage' to himself—and dragged him along forcefully, stomping his flat feet on the ground while muttering endlessly.

The journey was underway once again! The sky was blue with white 'spots' all over, and the morning sun was throwing its javelins of sunlight to the grassy ground underneath it. The grass and leaves rustled about, the wind howled loudly, and the birds chirped a beautiful melody – indeed, this was the song of a brand new day.

"Listen up," Cloud yelled, gaining the party's attention. "Right now we're in the 'Crossroad between Worlds' and we're looking for a portal back to Traverse Town, home base. The King informed Squall and I of a Sacred Staff which has the power to teleport us out of here. The Staff is owned by King Trode, who will hopefully fully cooperate once we explain our situation."

"Hold on there," Goofy interrupted. "There's something wrong with this picture."

"Please do share with us your words of wisdom captain of the Disney Knights," Donald sarcastically said.

"Well I'll be most happy to Donald my boy," Goofy said happily, not noticing the sarcasm in Donald's voice. "Think about it; is the 'Crossroad between Worlds' actually a…er…world? Or is this world actually a…um…crossroad? Yeah, a crossroad…that's pretty deep thinking I tell you. Ha-yuck!"

Cloud sighed, Sora chuckled, Squall grinned, and Donald slapped his hand on his forehead, sliding it slowly downward and across his beak. "Oh brother," the Duck said in a low tone.

"Thank you Goofy," Cloud said, unimpressed. Goofy kept repeating the words 'world' and 'crossroad' whilst muttering gibberish in between the repeats, making fast hand and pointing jesters.

"Anyway, back to the matter at hand," Cloud continued. Nobody fully recovered from Goofy's 'deduction', especially Donald. "As we head north, we should find clues of its whereabouts. So be on the lookout for anything suspicious."

"Aye-aye, captain!" Everyone shouted.

The gang walked for hours and hours, yet they had seen nothing but empty meadows. The once-blue sky eventually went dark, the white clouds were replaced with gray ones, the song of a brand new day was overshadowed by the sound of thunder, and the sun's javelins of light couldn't reach the earth anymore, for the lighting brewing in the sky seemed to be the primary light source of this world. Everyone started to feel uneasy.

"Something bad is happening," Squall announced. "I can feel it."

"Well you're not the only one," Sora said. After all, he was the bearer of the Keyblade. He freed lots of troubled worlds before, and what was going on now felt no different from the other worlds he once visited.

"Could it be…Heartless are here?" Goofy stuttered, looking a bit shaky.

"Bring it on! I'm afraid of no shadowy sh—ouch!" Goofy elbowed Donald on the ribs before he continued his sentence.

"Donald, not in front of the kids," Goofy whispered loudly, "we have a reputation to maintain you know."

"Sorry," Donald said as he rubbed his side. "But for once I'd like to act my age!"

"Stop!" Cloud yelled, extending his arms in a horizontal manner. Everyone stood their ground silently, but when Cloud suddenly unsheathed his Buster Sword and posed for battle, all of them jerked except for Squall.

"Everybody get ready! I can see something heading this way," Cloud said as he held his battle posture. The wind was getting even stronger, and Cloud's fluttering cape was an indication of that - the leather scabbard strapped to his back was fully visible now, no longer hiding under the cape's shelter. Everyone mimicked Cloud – Sora and Squall unsheathed their blades and held their battle stances; Goofy pulled out his round shield (gold engraved with a blue Mickey symbol) and simply stood his ground; and Donald waved his hands and fingers about, getting ready to cast some magic, kick ass, and take names.

The shadowed figures were heading closer and closer. In a short time everyone was able to make out what they were…

"…slimes!" Donald exclaimed. Yes, slimes…four slimes with faces to be exact, each one donned a different color – blue, red, metallic, and green from right-to-left. The latter slime had a knight riding on it, fully equipped with sword and armor. The height of the slimes was exactly like Donald's.

"Dog-gone-" Donald was muttering as he marched forward, approaching the metallic slime. The rest of the group calmly observed; they knew it was no use stopping Donald when he started feeling overconfident.

First, Donald cast a fire spell on the metallic slime, but it seemed unaffected after the smoke cleared. Donald started losing it, and cast a variety of elemental-based spells in succession, yet the slime was still holding its ground. It didn't even budge to counter attack; it just stood there with a semi-happy face. Donald tried pushing and carrying it, but it was no use; it still didn't move from its place. Then, the Duck finally lost his temper and gestured his typical 'put-up-your-dukes' pose while jumping around mumbling nonsense. As the final straw, he kicked the slime with full-force…a metallic sound followed by Donald yelping in pain was heard as he kept hopping around in one leg while holding his other foot.

"Donald, stop wasting time!" Cloud scolded, turned back to the party and started shouting instructions. "Goofy, you take the far right. Sora, the red one is all yours." Cloud turned back to an injured Donald and shouted, "Donald, go and take down that knight in the far left."

"And what are you and Leon going to do?" Goofy asked, scratching his head.

Cloud chuckled in reply, resting the Buster Sword on his shoulder plate as Squall began to answer, "Well isn't it obvious? Somebody has to take the middle, and for your information Cloud and I are those perfect 'somebodies' for the job. Don't ask why."

Sora and Goofy exchanged confused looks while Squall whispered to Cloud, "so, wager still on, spiky?" Squall extended his hand, waiting for his reply.

"Hell yeah! Bring it, Squall. Or should I call you 'Puff'?" Cloud whispered back coolly with a mocking tone, shaking his rival's hand for a second.

Squall replied with a 'whatever' and then everyone charged towards their respective opponents, weapons held up high and adrenaline flowing in their veins. Donald shook the pain out of his foot and followed them to battle.

Goofy charged at the blue slime with his shield held in front of his face. The slime just stood there, waiting forits opponent. Unfortunately—yet typical of Goofy—he forgot was that he was much taller than the slime, thus he had charged at thin air, tripping over the slime and falling face-first on the grass. Spitting the grass out of his mouth, he stood up and faced it once again only to notice that its face was twisted up a bit. Apparently, that simple trip caused damage. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Goofy charged again extending his shield in front of him, but this time he lowered his arms to the slime's height. The attack connected with flying colors; the slime exploded upon impact and its remains flew about, parts of it stuck on the shield and Goofy's eyes. Despite being temporarily blind, Goofy kept on running with his shield-equipped hands fully extended in front of him. "Hey, who turned out the lights?" he yelled, heading towards Sora and the red slime without even knowing.

Meanwhile, the Keyblade bearer was having a hard time connecting a hit on the red slime. It was a slippery foe because it kept bouncing around like a beach ball. Sora attempted a huge swing on the slime, but in the last second it dodged the attack and bounced up high. Sora stumbled in front as a result of that miss, leaving him open for attack. The red slime landed hard on Sora's head, pinning him flat on the ground and knocking the Keyblade out of his grip. The slime stood next to a prone Sora, who started crawling towards his keyblade. Little did he know thatit was getting ready for a follow-up attack. Defenceless, the boy looked back as he kept on crawling, noticingit flattened stance. It looked like the slime was going to jump on him again, but luckily Goofy came to the rescue in the nick of time. The blinded knight bumped into the slime, knocking it away yet stopping Goofy's running. Sora yelled a 'thank you' to a clueless and blind Goofy, picked up his Keyblade, and ran towards his fallen opponent. Sora jumped up high and pointed his blade vertically to the paralyzed slime. He connected forcefully with a perfect downward thrust, and luckily for Goofy he was able to witness the whole thing because he had wiped the slime off his eyes just before Sora started his attack. The lanky Knight's jaw dropped as the red slime exploded upon impact, sending its remains everywhere…and once again, a piece of slime connected with Goofy's face.

A slime-covered Sora approached Goofy and helped remove the slime off his face. Both of them smiled at each other.

"Wow," Goofy blurted out, "I have never seen an attack like that Sora. Amazing!"

Sora blushed and scratched the back of his head in reply. "Aw, it was nothing."

"Gawsh Sora…you HAVE TO teach me that attack some day."

"All in good time pal. Now let's go and check on the others. I can't make out the action from here." And with that, Sora and Goofy ran to the middle area, where Cloud, Squall, and that metallic slime were fighting.

"Taste cold steel, metal-ass!" the ex-SOLIDER shouted as he continuously slashed the metallic slime. Squall and Cloud had been taking turns on damaging it, but everything they tried was useless. Even Cloud's Meteor attack didn't work. Both swordsmen were on their knees panting heavily, for they were fresh out of ideas…until…

"Cloud, screw the bet," Squall said in between pants. "We got to go at this thing at the same time."

"Yeah," Cloud replied, "I'm too tired to object to that idea. In fact, it sounds so crazy it just might work. Let's get it on!"

Cloud and Squall stood up slowly and started running towards the slime, swords held high. No longer were they panting; their newfound hope replenished their energy. The sound of their combined battle cries was even louder than the thunder. Just a couple of more steps and their final attack will connect. All of a sudden, it started to rain…the sound of raindrops falling on the slime's metallic exterior joined the warrior's battle cries and the sky's thunder, creating an unusual yet eerie symphony.

Just a little more…

A little bit more…

Now!

"Double Slash!"

Both warriors simultaneously swung their swords, directly connecting with the metallic slime. The sound of steel slashing on metal roared loudly, and a bright light flashed from the point of impact, causing the swordsmen to shield their eyes and step back. Once the light disappeared, they removed their free arm from their eyes…

…only to see the metallic slime smiling back at them, standing its ground unaffected.

The sound of raindrops falling on the metallic slime haunted the swordsmen ears, as their azure-eyes remained fixated on its face. Unexpectedly, the slime blinked once, and his smile faded to a frown. Then, it turned its back on them and hopped away. Cloud and Squall stood like stones as the voice of Sora calling their names echoed from a distance. They didn't even turn their heads to greet the approaching Sora and Goofy.

"Cloud! Squall! Are you guys…okay?" Sora said as he and Goofy stopped running.

The black-clad warriors replied with a nod. Their sword-wielding arms slumped to their sides, a muffled metallic sound resulting from the tips of their blades connecting with the wet dirt.

"So didya get that metal monster?" Sora asked.

Cloud and Squall replied simultaneously; the former warrior with a 'yes' and the latter one with a 'no'.

"Huh?" Said Goofy, as he and Sora exchanged flabbergasted looks.

"Well…erm…both yes and no," Cloud said with an emotionless tone.

"How so?" Sora asked again.

"Well…erm…it ran away after we attacked it?" Squall intentionally phrased it as a question, thinking that Sora and Goofy would not believe his 'excuse'.

After a moment's silence, Sora and Goofy started yelling and dancing in celebration.

"You guys rock!" Sora yelled.

"I second that!" Goofy also shouted.

While Sora and Goofy were busy dancing and hooting, Cloud whispered to Squall, "this NEVER took place." The SeeD agent nodded in reply.

Donald was having trouble attacking his opponent. At first he thought of taking out the knight's "slimy ride" to ease his situation, but it was hopeless since the green slime seemed immune to all elemental attacks. Moreover, the knight had a shield which protected him from the wizard's magic. Thus, the only way to take it down was by brute force, and that was exactly what Donald had in mind

He charged at the slime like a bull, but this proved to be a huge mistake…for the slime opened its mouth and gobbled up Donald whole. His muffled muttering can still be heard from the outside. Moments later, the slime spat him out, the force causing him to tumble face first on a mucky puddle of dirt and water. He tried lifting his head up, but the slime hopped on top of it, burying it underneath the wet dirt. The slime and knight had their back turned on Donald, and all of a sudden the knight started laughing. Donald managed to lift his head up once again, and now he was furious. They had crossed the line with that cheap stunt, and he was going to show them that no one messed with the Duck. Donald slowly stood up, dirt and water dripping from his face, as he fixated his beady black eyes on the knight. He suddenly jumped and screamed in fury, catching the knight's attention. The knight signaled his slime to turn around, and once it did, the knight noticed Donald charging at them with blinding speed. Unfazed, the knight laughed and put away his shield, expecting Donald to be eaten again. But this time Donald did the unthinkable; he jumped up and nailed the knight with a powerful clothesline, dismounting him from his slimy steed. The knight landed head-first on the ground with a loud thud, and Donald was kneeling next to him. The slime hopped away in fear and the knight was moaning in pain, but the ill-tempered Duck wasn't finished. He mumbled a couple of nonsensical words and thrust his hand on the knight's breastplate, and instantaneously after removing his hand, a blue force-field formed around the knight, closing in on him fast. The space around the knight was getting smaller and smaller by the second, crushing the knight slowly. The knight begged for mercy while he was forced to curl himself into a ball, but Donald said nothing. The duck stood up and observed his surroundings. No one was in sight. No Goofy to elbow him. At last; this was his chance to act his age. He looked down his trapped opponent and grinned.

"Who's laughing now, bitch!"

On the other side of the field, Cloud and Squall were wiping the sticky slime off Sora and Goofy. Everyone was dead-tired from the battle, and the heavy rain wasn't helping. They almost seemed to be choking for air in this weather. Finally, Squall revealed his backpack and signaled everyone to help him set up camp.

"Does anyone know where the heck Donald is?" Sora asked as his spread the tent sheet on the ground.

"Here I am!" Donald yelled from a distance. He seemed to be carrying something blue. The gang couldn't make it out until he was near enough.

"I got a prisoner," Donald announced, as he threw the imprisoned knight on the ground next to the gang. Everyone noticed that the blue force-field was closing in on the knight, as he kept yelling in pain. Donald raised his head up high and puffed his chest, placing his flat foot on the knight. Goofy and Sora applauded and whistled, causing Donald to bow in reply.

"Donald, release it," Cloud said, silencing the celebration. "We can't question him in this state."

"But I-"

"Donald," Cloud said again, being as patient as ever. "Do it."

The Duck did as he was told, for he released his foot from the knight and the force-field immediately disappeared from around him. He wanted to punch Cloud in the face for his arrogance. Who does he think he is, anyway?

Cloud kneeled before the fallen knight. "Tell us all we need to know, and we'll set you free."

The knight stuttered in reply, "A-A-Aktemto."

"What?" Cloud said.

"Aktemto," the knight replied again, stuttering and shaking. "It's a mine town east of here. You'll find everything you need to know there. Now please let me go before the duck fries me!" The knight sounded hysterical. Donald grinned.

Cloud picked him up from his collar, stood up, and threw him across the field. The knight landed with a loud metallic thud, and limped as far away as possible.

The gang set up one tent and squeezed inside. Everyone gave each other looks, as the sound of thunder remained fresh outside. Somehow, they had a strange feeling about all this…a feeling that they were being watched.

In the meantime, as the knight limped further and further, a huge black shadow appeared out of nowhere. The knight whimpered in fear.

"You told them," the shadow said in a deep voice.

"But I-I-I…the duck…he was going to kill me…I c-couldn't-"

"That's not an excuse. Goodbye, Slime Knight. I sentence you to an eternity in the corn field."

"No…not the corn field! Please, anything but-"

The knight was cut off by a bright light engulfing him, screaming in pain and agony. The mysterious figure laughed manically.

"Welcome to the Twilight Zone, heroes. Soon, I'll get to face you...Goofy…after humiliating me…you'll pay for what you've done."


End file.
